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Birds Take Series With 6-3 Win On Wednesday Afternoon

Posted: 7/12/2017

Photo Credit: Betsy Bissen

ST. PAUL, MN – The Sioux Falls Canaries earned their first series win against a North Division opponent in the 2017 season after defeating the St. Paul Saints by the final score of 6-3 on Wednesday afternoon at CHS Field.

Starting pitcher Joe Bircher set the tone early on Wednesday afternoon, holding the Saints offense scoreless over the first four innings. The southpaw ran into trouble in the bottom of the 5th inning after giving up back-to-back singles to Mitch Delfino and Kes Carter before loading the bases with a one-out walk. Bircher got out of the jam and left the bases loaded after striking out both Tim Colwell and Tony Thomas for the final two outs of the inning.

The Game remained scoreless going into the top of the 6th inning before the Birds got their first run of the afternoon on a bases loaded RBI single from Trey Vavra.

The Saints responded in the bottom of the 6th inning after Brady Schoemaker led off the inning with a double and later scored on a Nate Hanson RBI double to tie the game at 1-1.

The score would remained tied until the top of the 8th inning when Blake Schmit gave the Birds their second lead of the afternoon on a solo homer (2) over the left field wall to make it a 2-1 ball game.

The Saints once again responded, tying the game at 2-2 on a Schoemaker solo HR (11) in the bottom of the 8th inning against Canaries relief pitcher Andrew Woeck.

The Canaries took their third, and final lead of the afternoon in the top of the 9th inning, scoring 4 runs off of Saints relief pitcher Caleb Thielbar, who gave up a two-out, two-run double to Burt Reynolds to give the Birds a 4-2 lead. The Canaries added two more insurance runs in the inning, taking a 6-2 lead into the bottom half of the 9th inning.

The Saints mounted one last come-back attempt, with Colwell hitting a two-out solo homerun off of relief pitcher James Jones before Thomas struck out to end the ball game.

Woeck (3-0) picked up his second win of the series, with Thielbar suffering his first loss of the season on Wednesday afternoon.

With the win, the Canaries earn their first series win against a North Division opponent, with the Saints suffering their first series loss to a divisional opponent in 2017.

Reynolds paced the Canaries offense, finishing the day 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Vavra also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the win.

The Canaries wrap up their four-game series in St. Paul on Thursday against the St. Paul Saints at CHS Field. RHP Bryce Morrow (1-4, 5.90) will take the hill for the Birds facing Saints’ RHP Mark Hamburger (9-1, 2.85 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. Fans can tune into all the Canaries action on the road on KWSN 1230-AM, 98.1-FM.

The Birds will return to The Birdcage for a three-game set against the Fargo-Moorhead Hawks starting July 18 at 7:05 PM. For information on single-game tickets, contact the Canaries Ticket Office at (605) 336-6060 or visit sfcanaries.com for more information.